Ashland Global Holdings Inc. ASH recorded first-quarter fiscal 2025 (ended Dec. 31, 2024) adjusted earnings of 28 cents per share, down from 45 cents in the prior-year quarter. The bottom line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 20 cents.

Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Sales declined 14.4% year over year to $405 million, falling short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $433.2 million. Organic sales volume growth in the Personal Care, Specialty Additives and Intermediates segments largely offset lower volumes in Life Sciences.

ASH’s Segment Highlights

Life Sciences: Sales in the segment fell 33% from the prior year to $134 million in the reported quarter, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $160.8 million. The decline was due to Portfolio Optimization and lower pharmaceutical sales volumes. Lower pharma sales mainly represent weaker market demand and customer inventory control actions, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and lower pricing from reductions implemented in fiscal year 2024.

Personal Care: Sales in the division rose 3.9% year over year to $134 million, in-line with Zacks Consensus Estimate of $133.9 million. The increase was driven by higher sales volumes across skin care, hair care and biofunctionals end markets.

Specialty Additives: Sales in the segment fell 5.7% year over year to $115 million, in line with Zacks Consensus Estimate of $115.3 million. The decrease was mostly due to Portfolio Optimization, which lowered Specialty Additives sales by roughly $7 million. Portfolio optimization mainly includes exiting the low-margin construction business. 

Intermediates: Sales in the segment were stable year over year at $33 million, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $34.3 million. This consistent performance was delivered across both merchant and captive sales.

ASH’s Financials

Operating activities used $30 million in cash flows in the first quarter. Free cash flow was negative $26 million against $66 million in the previous year. This was due to inventory corrections and reduced variable compensation payouts, which benefited the prior year.

ASH’s Outlook

For the full fiscal year, sales are expected to be between $1.90 billion and $2.05 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is projected in the range of $430-$470 million.

ASH’s Stock Price Performance

Shares of Ashland have lost 31.5% in the past year against a 15.5% decline of the industry.

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ASH’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Ashland currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space include ICL Group Ltd.  ICL, Hecla Mining Company HL and Ingevity Corporation NGVT.

ICL is slated to report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 26. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 6 cents. ICL beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 18.1%. ICL carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Hecla Mining is expected to report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 12. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HL’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 4 cents. HL beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 50%. HL currently carries a Zacks Rank #1.

Ingevity is slated to report fourth-quarter results on Feb. 18, after market close. The consensus estimate for Ingevity’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 12 cents. NGVT, carrying a Zacks Rank #1, beat the consensus estimate in three of the last four quarters while missing once, with the average earnings surprise being 95.4%. 

 

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